Method and system enabling premature use of a textile garment made of denim fabric

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a method of premature wear of a fabric garment made of a colored denim canvas, wherein the aforementioned garment is placed into a rotating machine including a drum, characterized by the fact that the aforementioned method comprises a step during which the garment is rotated in the drum without being wetted or dampened, ozone gas being injected simultaneously into the interior of the aforementioned drum so as to bleach the aforementioned garment and give it a wear effect.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

An object of the invention is a method and a system enabling premature wearing of a fabric garment made of “jean” material or colored denim canvas.

The invention relates to the technical treatment of garments to give them a unique texture and structure.

PRIOR ART

Denim canvas, or “jean” fabric, is widely used in the apparel industry, primarily for the manufacture of trousers, jackets, shirts or other items. This fabric is often colored, generally with a typical indigo blue color, more or less dark. These garments may be subject to a process of washing out with the purpose of wearing them prematurely in order to give to them a “vintage” or antique appearance, as if they had been worn and washed for numerous years.

Different techniques enable premature wear of such garments. The most common technique comprises placing them in rotary drum machines more or less filled water and containing abrasive materials or not, generally pumice stones. A repeated washing of the garments with water provides a gradual removal of the indigo and give a bleaching effect to the garment similar to that obtained naturally if they had been worn and washed for numerous years. The pumice stones tend to tear the fabric to artificially bleach the garments and/or artificially create tears or other forms of wear. Water can be mixed with one or more bleaching agents accelerating fading, for example ozone. The wear effect can be amplified by applying locally on the fabric decolorant chemical substances of the potassium permanganate type, or by manually scraping the garments with sandpaper type abrasive materials. The documents EP 0,259,948 (BURLINGTON), EP 0,238,779 (GOLDEN TRADE), FR 2,605,024 (LINCZOWSKI), FR 2,525,644 (ABRASIVI SCATTOLIN), FR 2,645,551 (DUHAMEL) or U.S. 2003/009861 (KWOK) disclose some of these treatments.

The main disadvantage of these different finishing techniques is that they require a large consumption of water and electric energy. In addition, the chemical discoloring substances possibly used are potentially a source of pollution that is necessary to treat before any release.

Given this state of affairs, an objective of the invention is to provide a treatment enabling premature wear of a fabric garment made of “jean” material or colored denim canvas enabling attainment of an effect similar to the finishing techniques known in the prior art, but without using water.

Another objective of the invention is to reduce the consumptions of electrical energy necessary for treatment of premature wear treatments of a fabric garment made of colored denim canvas.

Yet another objective of the invention is to reduce or eliminate the use of polluting chemical substances for prematurely wearing of a fabric garment made of colored denim fabric.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The solution provided by the invention is a method for premature wear of a fabric garment made of a colored denim canvas, wherein the aforementioned garment is placed in a rotating machine including a drum, the aforementioned method being remarkable in that it comprises a step during which the dry garment is rotated in the drum without being wetted or dampened, ozone gas being injected simultaneously into the interior of the aforementioned drum in order to bleach the aforementioned garment and give it a wear effect.

The applicants have found that by replacing multiple washes with water by a single ozone treatment, a jean garment was artificially worn in the same fashion, that is to say with the same texture and the same behavior. With this new technique of premature wear, the consumption of water is zero and the quantity of electric energy used is reduced by more than 50% because of the fact that only a single machine cycle is now sufficient.

Other notable features of the process are listed below, each of these factures can be considered alone or in combination with the remarkable facture defined above:

-   -   the ozone gas is injected so that the atmosphere in the interior         of the drum has a concentration of ozone gas between 40% and         80%;     -   the dry garment is rotated in the drum during a period between 1         minute and 15 minutes;     -   a stream of ozone gas is injected into the drum in a localized         and continuous manner, the areas of the garment subjected to the         aforementioned stream being bleached, the extraction of the         ozone gas from the drum being realizable simultaneously with its         injection,     -   prior to the ozone treatment:     -   a) an aqueous solution of a polymerizable resin is applied on         all or part of the garment,     -   b) a thermal treatment is performed in order to dry the garment         and polymerize the resin;     -   prior to the ozone treatment, a series of three-dimensional         folds is formed on the garment;     -   prior to the ozone treatment, the dry garment is scraped so as         to give a pronounced wear effect with removal of material;     -   prior to the ozone treatment, a portion of the garment is         discolored by the means of oxidant substances;     -   prior to the ozone treatment, the dry garment is rotated in a         drum without being wetted or dampened, elements made of abrasive         material being placed in the interior of the aforementioned         drum;     -   after the ozone treatment, the garment is rotated in a drum         without being wetted or dampened, balls being placed in the         interior of the aforementioned drum so as to soften the         aforementioned garment.

Another aspect of the invention relates to a system for prematurely wearing of a fabric garment made of a colored denim canvas, comprising a rotating machine including a drum in which the aforementioned garment is placed, characterized by the fact that the aforementioned machine is configured to rotate the dry garment in the drum without the aforementioned garment being wetted or dampened, the aforementioned system further comprising an ozone gas generator and a means for injecting the aforementioned ozone produced into the interior of the aforementioned rotating drum in order to bleach the aforementioned garment and give it a wear effect.

Other advantages and features of the invention will become more apparent upon reading the description of a preferred mode of implementation that is going to follow, with reference to the accompanying drawing, made by way of indicative and non limiting example and in which FIG. 1 shows a rotary drum machine used for the implementation of the method.

IMPLEMENTATION MODES OF THE INVENTION

The method in accordance with the invention aims to obtain, in the treated garments, an appearance of a garment that has been used for a long period, and notably a washed out garment (bleached) with traces of wear. More particularly but not exclusively, the method is suitable for the treatment of garments made of denim (or jeans) colored (for example in indigo blue, black, . . . ) such as pants, jackets, shirts, etc.

Referring to the attached FIG. 1, one or multiple G garments are placed in a machine 1 comprising a drum 10. The latter is rotated around its axis of symmetry 100 by the means of an electric motor 11. In an implementation variation not shown, a single machine 1 can comprise multiple drums 10 rotated by one or multiple electric motors. A window or trap door enables access to the interior of the drum 10 to place and/or remove the garment G.

The garment G is placed in the dry state in the interior of the drum 10. Throughout the cycle of rotation of the drum 10, the garment G is neither wet nor moistened. No water supply, whether in liquid or gaseous form, is thus effected during the wash out cycle, the garment G remaining totally dry.

According to the invention, ozone gas is injected into the interior of the drum 10 during the washout cycle. The ozone gas acts on the dye of the denim in order to bleach it and give the garment a worn look. In practice, an ozone gas generator 2, integrated or not into the machine with a rotating drum 1, is used. The generator 2 is of the type known to those skilled in the art. It is coupled to a nozzle 20 or any other means for injecting ozone produced into the interior of the drum 10. The injection of ozone gas can be carried out continuously or, instead, discontinuously. After or during the washout cycle, an extractor 3 enables extraction of the ozone gas from the drum 10 to discharge it in the form of oxygen in the atmosphere

According to a preferred mode of implementation, during the washout cycle, the generator 2 is controlled in a manner to maintain a concentration of ozone gas in the interior of the drum 10 at a predetermined value. To do this, a measuring sensor is advantageously arranged in the interior of the drum 10, the generator 2 being controlled in order to inject ozone gas as soon as the measured concentration is less than the predetermined value and as long as the aforementioned concentration does not attain the aforementioned value.

The rotation of a dry denim garment G in an atmosphere concentrated with ozone gas enables rapid attainment of a wear effect more natural than those obtained with current methods of washout with water, and in particular those obtained with bleaching methods where the ozone is either mixed with water or, is applied to a wet or damp garment. In addition, with method in accordance with the invention, the ozone gas acts on the denim canvas in a relatively random manner because during the rotation of the garment G in the drum 10, certain parts of the aforementioned canvas are overlaid and/or folded and/or form folds, which are more or less exposed to ozone and therefore more or less bleached. This random bleaching helps to increase the uniqueness of the appearance of the garment obtained and enables attainment of wear effect close to that obtained naturally after multiple years of washing.

In principle, the quantity of ozone gas injected into the drum 10 and the exposure time depend on the desired intensity of the wear effect on the number of garments G in the drum 10, and possibly on the weight of such garments. In practice, the atmosphere inside the drum 10 preferably has a concentration of ozone gas between 40% and 80%. The duration of the cycle is preferably between 1 minute and 15 minutes. At such a concentration and such a cycle duration enabling attainment of an optimal result with an optimal energy consumption.

In an implementation variation, instead of maintaining an atmosphere concentrated with ozone gas throughout the cycle of washout, preferably the localized and continuous injection of a stream of ozone gas is given into the drum 10, the areas of garment G passing in front of the nozzles 20 and subject to the aforementioned stream being bleached. In this case, extraction of ozone gas from drum 10 may be conducted simultaneously with the injection of the aforementioned ozone.

An advantage related to the implementation of a bleaching without water is that the garment G can be subjected to other conventional finishing treatments beforehand, in order to obtain a large number of wear effects.

By way of example, it is possible to effect a treatment such as the application of an aqueous solution of polymerizable resin, preferably an acrylic resin, on all or part of the garment G in order to enable it to maintain a predetermined three-dimensional shape. This aqueous solution of polymerizable resin is typically applied to folds made by using a machine, commonly called “topper” enabling creasing of the garment in order to give it a three dimensional effect. After application of the aqueous solution, the garment thus treated is beforehand inserted into an oven for drying heat treatment, the temperature of the aforementioned oven being maintained below the polymerization temperature of the resin. After this preliminary step of drying, the garment undergoes a phase of heating to a temperature and during a period of time sufficient so that the resin polymerize completely.

The garment G can also be scraped, either on localized areas or on its entire surface, using sandpaper, brushes or other equivalent tools, in order to obtain areas that simulate tears, scratches or other pronounced effects of wear with a removal of material.

Another finishing treatment comprises discoloring a portion of the garment G (for example for a pair of pants, behind the knees, on the buttocks or on the face in front of the legs) oxidants substances such as chlorine or potassium permanganate.

The dry garment can still be rotated in a drum without being wetted or dampened, element made of abrasive material being placed in the interior of the drum so as to give a pronounced wear effect with removal of material. It can be the drum 10 of the machine 1 above, or otherwise a drum of another specific dedicated machine. Typically pumice stones are used as element of abrasive material.

After the ozone treatment, garment G can be rotated in a drum without being wetted or dampened, balls being placed in the interior of the aforementioned drum in order to soften the aforementioned garment. It may be the drum 10 of the machine 1 above, or instead of another drum machine dedicated. The balls used are preferably golf balls.

Various non-limiting examples of premature wear processes are listed below:

Method number 1:

-   -   a) application of an aqueous solution of a polymerizable resin         over all or part of the garment G,     -   b) creasing of the garment G to give it a three dimensional         effect,     -   c) thermal treatment (passage in an oven) to fix the resin     -   d) scraping of all or part of the garment G,     -   e) ozone treatment of the garment G     -   f) softening the garment G with balls,     -   g) cleaning the garment by passage under a stream of compressed         air.

Method number 2:

-   -   a) application of an aqueous solution of a polymerizable resin         over all or part of the garment G,     -   b) creasing of the garment G in order to give it a three         dimensional effect     -   c) thermal treatment to fix the resin,     -   d) scraping of all or part of the garment G,     -   e) treating the garment G by passing through the rotating         machine with element made of abrasive material,     -   f) ozone treatment of the garment G     -   g) softening the garment G with balls,     -   h) cleaning the garment by passing under a stream compressed         air.

Method number 3:

-   -   a) application of an aqueous solution of a polymerizable resin         over all or part of the garment G     -   b) creasing of the garment G in order to give a three         dimensional effect,     -   c) thermal treatment to fix the resin,     -   d) scraping of all or part of the garment G,     -   e) discoloration parts scraped of the garment G by applying an         oxidant substances,     -   f) treating the garment G by passing through the rotating         machine with element made of abrasive material,     -   g) ozone treatment of the garment G     -   h) softening the garment G with balls     -   i) cleaning of the garment by passing under a stream compressed         air.

Method number 4:

-   -   a) creasing of the garment G to give a three dimensional effect,     -   b) scraping of all or part of the garment G,     -   c) discoloration parts scraped of the garment G by applying an         oxidant substances     -   d) treating the garment G by passing through the rotating         machine with element made of abrasive material,     -   e) ozone treatment of the garment G     -   f) softening the garment G with balls     -   g) cleaning the garment by passing under a stream compressed         air. 

1. A method for premature wear of a fabric garment made of a colored denim canvas, wherein the aforementioned garment is placed in a rotating machine including a drum, characterized by the fact that the aforementioned method comprises a step during which the dry garment is rotated in the drum without being wetted or dampened, ozone gas being injected simultaneously into the interior of the aforementioned drum in order to bleach the garment and give it a wear effect.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the ozone gas is injected so that the atmosphere in the interior of the drum has a concentration of ozone gas between 40% and 80%.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the dry garment is rotated in the drum during a period between 1 minute and 15 minutes.
 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein a stream of ozone gas is injected into the drum in a localized and continuous manner, the areas of the garment subjected to the aforementioned stream being bleached.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the extraction of ozone gas from the drum is carried out simultaneously with its injection.
 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein prior to the ozone treatment: a) an aqueous solution of a polymerizable resin is applied on all or part of the garment, b) a thermal treatment is performed in order to dry the garment and polymerize the resin.
 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein prior to the ozone treatment, the dry garment is scraped so as to give a pronounced wear effect with removal of material.
 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein prior to the ozone treatment, a portion of the garment is discolored by the means of oxidant substances.
 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein prior to the ozone treatment, the dry garment is rotated in a drum without being wetted or dampened, elements made of abrasive material being placed in the interior of the aforementioned drum so to give a pronounced wear effect with removal of material.
 10. The method according to claim 1, wherein after the ozone treatment, the garment is rotated in a drum without being wetted or dampened, balls being placed in the interior of the aforementioned drum so as to soften the aforementioned garment.
 11. A system for prematurely wearing of a fabric garment made of a colored denim canvas, comprising a rotating machine including a drum in which the garment is placed, characterized by the fact that the aforementioned machine is configured to rotate the drum in the interior of which the dry garment is placed, without the aforementioned garment being wetted or dampened, the aforementioned system further comprising an ozone generator and a means for injecting the aforementioned ozone produced into the interior of the aforementioned rotating drum in order to bleach the garment and give it a wear effect. 